​Fourteen years on, the Miller Avenue fitness hub is buzzing with an expanded demographic of people who are drawn to its method.

Ultimate Fitness owner Randy Green, at left, along with his team of instructors, including former owner Sara Ellis. Courtesy image.

Ultimate Fitness owner Randy Green.

From vitamin and herbal supplements to sports nutrition, Randy Green spent the bulk of his career in the natural health business, working for everyone from giants like Bristol Meyers Squibb to small startups.

But when he and his wife began having children, Green made a realization that many do at that moment: he was spending too much time on product and business development, and not enough on his family. So he took action.

“I wanted to start my own business, and I knew that I wanted to stay in the health and fitness world,” Green says.

The Escondido, Calif., native took over Mercury FItness & High Performance Pilates Center in the Cow Hollow/Marina neighborhood of San Francisco five years ago, and has continued to build the award-winning practice ever since.

In 2016, Green decided that Mercury was well-established enough that he could add another fitness business. He learned that Sara Ellis, the former pro mountain biker from San Geronimo Valley, was looking to sell her thriving Ultimate Fitness business that she’d been running for 13 years on Miller Avenue.

“I really liked the business itself and their innovation approach to using slow motion strength training,” Green says. “And Sara and I hit it off right away – she’s fantastic.”

Green notes that Ultimate’s clientele was slightly on the older side, slow motion training is great for improving bone density and improving balance to avoid falls. “Those falls often lead to people’s health declining very quickly,” he says.

While connecting with elderly people looking to improve their strength remain a core part of Ultimate’s business, Green has looked to expand the age range of people coming into the studio, particularly among young athletes.

“There’s been a huge increase in the number of kids and teens having sports injuries because they are specializing in one sport versus multiple sports,” Green says. “Over-use of these muscles can cause injuries, and this slow motion training can combat that.”

“A lot of people think it’s super slow and they won’t experience the results from working out more slowly, but studies have shown that you get twice the strength gain in two months with the slow method,” he adds.

Fitness is generally defined as the state of the physical and mental condition of a person that gauges how much and how long the person can do physical tasks and activities. The following article discusses the topic of 'what is fitness'.